Someone like you (2001)

I have watched this movie twice because of the lead pair Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman, and the funny references to bovine love. There is also the immensely talented Marisa Tomei (who also starred in Crazy, Stupid, Love) – her comic timing is impeccable.

Love can be complicated, especially when the object of one’s affection doesn’t reciprocate or when one faces repeated rejection and wonders why. Relationship experts have theories, and if the scientific process (and sensitivity to sexism) isn’t applied to these theories, they make for easy reading. I have read “1 month for every year of the relationship” is the ideal recovery time from broken relationships. I have read of how it takes not 21, but 42 days to form a new habit. Go no-contact - that’s when one recovers.

At one point in the movie, Ashley Judd’s character pretends to be an old psychologist and writes for a leading men’s magazine on the “old cow syndrome” – i.e. how bulls prefer new cows to old cows. From moving to greener pastures to mooing all the way, the syndrome reduces men and women to bulls and cows. It made me laugh.

The house that Hugh Jackman’s character and Ashley Judd’s character share reminded me of a large garage. Watch the trailer here. Without fail, womanizers have a reason to be the way they are, and they mend their ways as soon they find the "right woman".

Rush (2013)

In the past 5 weeks, I have spent some time admiring two extremely good looking men. The second is Hrithik Roshan in Bang Bang, and the first is Chris Hemsworth in Rush. I have watched Chris in The Avengers, and he made for a perfect Thor.

Last month, I watched Rush again on television, and then thought about my incomplete post. I had watched Rush last year itself, soon after its release in India. That particular weekend was a great weekend – I had watched two biopics based on sports - I had watched The Fighter on television. As for Rush, since it is based on F1, I had wanted to watch it as soon as I could.

The sibling and I had spotted VJ Yudhishthir (Yudi) when we had gone to watch Rush. The minute James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) appeared on screen, I realized why Kimi Raikkonen considers him as an idol, and why his legend lives on - he is supposed to have slept with 5,000 women. In today's times, he would be considered a sex addict, and asked to go through de-addiction.

The movie paints the F1 circuit in a realistic and gripping manner, and credit goes to the director Ron Howard who has previously directed A Beautiful Mind. There are a few scenes that struck me as unreal, and the wikipedia entry shows that some scenes had been created specifically for the movie. For instance, the scene where James Hunt beats up the journalist who asks insensitive questions on the impact of Niki Lauda’s looks on his marriage.

This year, I realized the casting is perfect and the lead actors and actresses resemble the real-life characters. This link has more information, and I am going to post two pictures.

This is the real Niki Lauda and James Hunt.

This is a still from the movie.

I found it painful to watch the scenes post Lauda’s crash at Nurburgring, Germany. I shed some tears watching the scenes at the hospital, and when Lauda tells Hunt that while he was responsible for the crash in some way, he was equally responsible for getting him back to racing.

There is this exchange between James Hunt and his wife Suzy.

Suzy: Why have you come here, James?

James: To get you back.

Suzy: You don’t want me back...you never wanted to be married in the first place. You did it because you hoped it might change you...settle you down... help with the racing. Not because you loved me. And who knows, if it had been just the drinking, or the dope, or the infidelity, or the moods...it might even have worked...but when it’s all of them?

James: I know. I’m terrible.

Suzy: No, you’re not terrible. You’re just...who you are...at this point in your life. And God help anyone that wants more.

James: Will he be able to give you more? He has quite the bad boy reputation himself.

Suzy: What’s important is how it feels to me. And it feels like he adores me.

The real-life incidents are slightly different from what has been depicted. What would I have done if I were in Suzy's place - the movie character's place? If this question had been asked last year, my response would have been that I would not have gone skiing 'that weekend' with another bad boy. I would have just let some dreams die and reconciled for second best. Today, my response is that I would have first left Hunt and then gone skiing at a later date.

The references to rats are delightful, even though I am no fan of rats in real life. Lauda says, “Behind my back I know some of you guys call me ‘The Rat.’ Because I look like one. It’s meant as an insult. But I don’t mind it. Rats are ugly, sure. And no one likes them. But they’re intelligent. With a strong survival instinct.”

This remains one of the best movies I have watched.

Bang Bang! (2014)

When the movie title was first announced, I thought it was a silly name – even if it rightly gave the impression of several gunshots. I knew that it was a remake of Knight and Day, and the original movie hadn’t been a great watch, even though it starred Tom Cruise.

Then I saw this song, and got excited. I wanted to watch the song on the large screen.




The movie was released on October 2, 2014 – just at the start of the long weekend. I watched Hrithik Roshan, the lead actor, tweet about the #bangbangdare and I experienced a surreal moment when he was online past 2 a.m., at the same time as me. I am waiting for the day when one of these huge celebrities notice my tweet.

The movie was released and the reviews weren’t flattering, especially with reference to the storyline and the heroine Katrina Kaif. It left me disappointed. Nevertheless, I was happy that the movie started off strongly at the box office - it has now crossed over Rs. 300 crores overall.

This weekend, I wanted to take my parents out to watch a movie. I had already watched Haider (highly recommended) and Bang Bang! was the only other Hindi movie playing at the Chennai theatre we wanted to go to. Chennai has a ceiling on theatre ticket prices since 2007, and I knew that even if the movie was terrible, it would still not be a prohibitive watch.

As it turns out, the movie has not too much in common with Knight and Day. As for the flaws in the storyline, if I get into talking about them, the points that I wish to highlight would get lost.

Hrithik Roshan has the ability to play superhero, much like stars from Hollywood, and that’s no easy feat. His stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania has done wonders with his look for this movie too – she had earlier styled him in Dhoom 2. He carries off aviators extremely well (a silent nod to Tom Cruise and Top Gun?), his body is to die for and I welcome the sex appeal. If I go by his waist, he must be a lean man in real life, despite his muscles.

The scenes involving the flyboard have been shot extremely well. I was mesmerized when I watched them, and I later got to know that it is for the first time that scenes with a flyboard have been shot in a Hollywood or Bollywood movie. Hrithik injured himself while shooting these scenes, and had to undergo a brain surgery.

Siddharth Anand, the director, seems to like cars. Stock car racing found its way into Ta Ra Rum Pum (yes, I have watched this too) and here F1 makes an appearance. The F1 car scenes were shot in Abu Dhabi, and Hrithik has driven the car himself! Perhaps it was a car from Marussia. I’d like to check with Army officers if they are indeed given unlimited expense accounts, and taught all these skills.

Danny Denzongpa, Kanwaljit Singh and Deepti Naval are nice to watch in their limited roles. I wish Katrina Kaif had picked up something from them. As for Jaaved Jaffrey, he is cast in a role different from his role in Salaam Namaste made by the same director.

Online / internet dating is made fun of, and the way the lead pair gets together involves a case of mistaken identity. What’s not funny is the way the heroine asks the hero why he is with her when she (in her words) is clearly so boring, and he clearly so exciting. The hero, being a superhero, gently reassures her and reminds her of how great she really is. In reality, these 'scenes' would look quite different and self esteem issues might get discussed.

Finally, watch this song. Is there anything Hrithik Roshan cannot do?

Here!! Some more bangbang before Thursday! title track http://t.co/Dc4BjuU8Ji poora gaana!
— Hrithik Roshan (@iHrithik) September 29, 2014

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

When I first watched a scene from this movie, I thought it would be on the lines of Slumdog Millionaire and switched channels soon enough. The name of the movie continued to intrigue me, and I checked the ratings. I was shocked to see the high ratings, and when I landed on the movie again (on a different day), I decided to watch it from then on.

I enjoyed the movie, and while I found the way Jean and Douglas end their marriage unrealistic, there were several positives. I am now drawn to movies with older characters, and this one had plenty of them. The gay characters weren’t caricatures or stereotypes, the British accents were nicely done and the humour was welcome, the Indians looked Indian and behaved like Indians (even if they spoke better English than usual), and the settings looked realistic. The characters were gripping – their idiosyncrasies and fears were well explored.



This line mouthed by Sonny (Dev Patel) – “Everything will be all right in the end... if it's not all right then it's not yet the end.” reminded me of 'Om Shanti Om'.

My favourite line is this – “All we know about the future is that it will be different. But, perhaps what we fear is that it will be the same. So, we must celebrate the changes.”

I am waiting for the sequel that’s due for release in 2015. Richard Gere is expected to join the cast.

Amelie (2001)

I have never managed to watch the entire movie, and I love the way Audrey Tautou plays the title character Amelie. Her neighbours are presented in an interesting manner, and everyday happenings are treated with love and detail. There are several references to paintings and cooking, and I enjoyed the colours used in the movie.

There is one scene I remember where she decides to help her withdrawn father. She secretly takes his reinstalled garden gnome away, plays a trick and then the reclusive man thinks about his forgotten desire to travel. Watch the scene here, and do watch the movie.

Hum Aapke Hain Kaun..! (1994)

HAHK, as it was popularly known, was released on August 5, 1994 and it became the first Bollywood movie to make over Rs. 1 billion. I recently saw some articles that celebrated the 20th anniversary of its release, and it reminded me of the time when the sibling and I had gone with our mother to book tickets in advance. If I recollect right, this was among the few movies that my paternal grandmother watched along with us at the theatre.

The movie was long even by Hindi movie standards, and the 14 songs added to the length of the movie. They removed 2 songs from the movie, and retained them in the soundtrack. I was a fan of Madhuri Dixit, and the success of the movie made me happy. I have watched several movies multiple times, and it used to surprise me that HAHK did not find favour in my repeat-viewing list.

Back then, I remember reading in some film magazine that Madhuri Dixit (15-05-1967) is elder to Renuka Shahane (07-10-1966) in real life and yet played her younger sister, and now Wikipedia tells me that Renuka is elder by 7 months.

“Didi tera devar” was #1 on music countdown shows, including Superhit Muqabla, for a long time. The sight of a swinging Salman Khan singing “Kudiyon ka hai zamaana” had made me think that this is favourable to women, and I somehow had faith that Madhuri Dixit would not portray characters that allowed men to take advantage of her and treat her badly.



Posters and other promotional material also covered the backless choli and the embroidered purple saree.

I remember discussing the yellow (or was it orange?) salwar kameez that Madhuri wears in this song with some friends at school.



Years later, I realized that Nisha (the character played by Madhuri Dixit) didn’t have it easy. She had flowers aimed at her butt, and didn’t speak up when her marriage was fixed with her dead sister’s husband instead of Prem, the dead sister’s husband’s brother. Prem doesn’t admit to his love either, and stays quiet. "Saali to adhi gharwali hoti hai” – the wife’s sister is half-a-wife – HAHK made use of this theme.

It took a Pomeranian (apparently, the correct term is the Indian Spitz) to rescue the lovers and unite them.

11 years after HAHK, the movie Bewafaa was based on the same theme of “Saali to adhi gharwali hoti hai” and the dutiful younger sister is labelled unfaithful. Would a man’s younger brother ever be forced to marry the wife of his dead brother? In 1981, Silsila explored that theme briefly and it bombed at the box office.

Gender stereotypes exist for several reasons, and movies have a role in perpetuating them. This is a speech by Sharmila Tagore in 2013 and she says, “Traditionally, we as a nation have tended to view a woman either as devi (goddess) or as property of man but never as an equal.” HAHK also found mention in her speech. Post the release of Kick in 2014, this article questions whether the hero is a molester or a real hero.

HAHK inspired a generation to indulge in lavish weddings – in Hindi movies and outside of them. It also cemented Madhuri’s position as the undisputed #1 leading lady, and 20 years later, she continues to receive offers to act. I am happy for her, and am hoping to see lavish weddings lose their lustre.

Teaser post: PK (2014)

Aamir Khan, in recent years, has resorted to interesting ways of promoting his movies. Sufficient buzz gets generated, and before you know, even non-fans are keen to watch his movie.

This time, he has gone one step ahead. He has shed his clothes and has posed on a railway track with a radio covering his privates. This link suggests that the poster has been inspired by a Portuguese musician Quim Barreiros. The movie is expected to release in December this year, and the promotion has started over four months in advance.

Sanjay Dutt and Sushant Singh Rajput are also there in the movie. Given their toned bodies, will they give competition to Aamir Khan by posing in a similar manner?

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

I accidentally watched this rom-com movie and spotted Ryan Gosling. I had watched him in “Lars and the Real Girl” and enjoyed the movie. He has a lovely nose, great screen presence and I later read that he is a feminist and a recluse.

The movie is funny and has some stand-out moments. Watch one with him and Emma Stone paying tribute to "Dirty Dancing".



Emma Stone’s character’s parents are played by the delightful Steve Carell and Julianne Moore. Their marriage runs into trouble after she cheats on him and asks for a divorce. Watch the movie to see what happens.

Carell mouths, “I have loved her even when I hated her... only married couples will understand that one.” The ones who remain married despite being cheated upon normally have the same thing to say?

I am excited to watch "The Notebook" now.

Titanic (1997)

You must have heard of / watched the movie, right? The crazy fan that I was, I even went and watched the 3D version of the movie in the theatre when it released in 2012. I have watched parts of the movie many times, and I learn something new each time.

When I was at b-school, one of my batchmates commented on how I was too prim and proper like what is shown in this movie. He referred to the scene where Rose watches a mother teach her young daughter table manners (the daughter places the napkin perfectly on her lap), and gets reminded of her own childhood.

There’s a scene where Rose’s fiancé is congratulated -“Congratulations, Hockley. She's splendid.” It is then I noticed how I have also congratulated male friends in a similar manner – “She looks lovely!” I can’t recollect saying the same to any female friend of mine – “He looks handsome!” At best, I have commented on their fiancé’s height. It is then I started paying attention to what I was saying to new couples.

Last year, I could recognize the reference to Monet and later got to know that it is a factual error – Monet’s paintings did not find their way into the Titanic. Jack Dawson is an artist (a fictitious character) and if he recognizes Monet’s work, that’s plausible?

Will these two actors come together for a movie again?

Manjunath (2014)

In 2008, I was briefly associated with the Manjunath Shanmugam Trust and later got to know that a movie is being made on Manjunath. Among other reasons, his story captured headlines because he belonged to an elite institution, and there were people who could speak up for him post his death.

Do take a look at the trailer here – the biopic is being released in May 2014. I still wish biopics made in India do away with the song-and-dance routine and get made in documentary style. 

There are several others who do their duty silently, and do not get recognition. Spread the word, and watch the movie. For Manjunath, and those like him.

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

Given how upset I am with news from Woody Allen’s personal life, I had decided to take a long break from watching his movies. On one Saturday, I rushed into the drawing room when the music seemed familiar and Mia Farrow appeared on screen. The sibling was surprised to see how I had figured that it was a movie by Woody Allen without watching a scene - she was just about to switch channels.

I broke my promise of taking a long break from his movies.

I watched the last half-hour of The Purple Rose of Cairo. A movie character steps out of the movie and enters the real world. He interacts with movie buff Cecilia, who is in an unhappy marriage. It took me a while to get used to Cecilia (character played by Mia Farrow) interacting with two men, both played by Jeff Daniels.

What I noticed this time was that while there are strong female characters in Allen’s movies, they get a raw deal by the time the movie ends. I also heard mentions of Leslie Howard (“I could have been played by Fredric March or Leslie Howard”) – the actor who played Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind.

Watch the trailer.

Oscars 2014

Marketing gimmick or not, it made me happy to see this selfie taken at the Oscars couple of days ago. There are so many past winners in this snap, and the impromptu snap has so many wide smiles. The snap was originally meant to be taken by host Ellen DeGeneres with Meryl Streep posing for it. Bradley Cooper took it, and other actors and actresses who were sitting close by also joined the fun.

It has been retweeted over 3 million times.

It was the 86th edition of the Academy Awards, and this is my 100th post on this blog. 

How celebrities party

When it came to the Golden Globes 2014, these handsome actors decided to bring along their respective mothers. They immediately got labelled as mama’s boys (they didn't bring along their rather young girlfriends), and the tone of the article made me wonder about their fathers. It turns out that Cooper’s father passed away in 2011, and DiCaprio’s parents are divorced. DiCaprio’s father is into underground comics – this perhaps explains DiCaprio’s activist side?

DiCaprio won his second Golden Globe award for 'The Wolf of Wall Street'. Cooper's father was a stockbroker.

Somehow, this picture made me think of this quote – "If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed."

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Somewhere in the middle of the movie, Jordan Belfort’s drug addict character receives a sudden high from taking an overdose of drugs that have been preserved – they are called “Lemmon" Quaaludes. He falls with a thud on the floor of the country club, he loses control over his limbs, and he is drooling like a baby. He struggles and gains some control over his disobeying body and then drags himself to the staircase. He then stares at the staircase wondering how to navigate it in order to get to his parked White Ferrari.

The audience burst into loud laughter when we watched him stare.

In an earlier scene, he gets invited to lunch by Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey in a brilliant performance). Hanna has an odd musical ritual that he encourages Belfort to pick up, among other stuff. The young Belfort looks around, is slightly embarrassed as he copies the ritual and then gets the audience to wonder what happens next.

'The Wolf of Wall Street' has plenty of such moments, if you are willing to look beyond the f-bombs being dropped (the highest ever in a non-documentary film), the sex references and the general debauchery. I am part of the audience that is marveling at Scorsese’s ability to poke fun at Wall Street in this manner, and there are several critics who found the movie over the top and unrealistic. My father is critical of the language mouthed by the characters. This isn't a new reaction from him.

All of this was one man’s real life. One can debate on whether everybody in his life swore this way or whether they snorted cocaine as often or whether he has been punished properly. What gets established is that Belfort was a master salesman who sold penny stocks to unsuspecting clients, made a killing that would make the rich men of Wall Street envious and led a lifestyle that was mostly ugly.

The movie succeeded in making me laugh and feel really uncomfortable at the same time. The scene where a woman in Jordan’s office gets her head shaved by a colleague even as the office is watching and cheering (she makes money for a boob job this way) made me feel sad – it is a horrible sight to see someone lose their hair, the scenes where Jonah Hill’s obnoxious Donnie Azoff character masturbates on seeing Jordan’s future second wife or the one where he urinates into a dustbin are outright disgusting, the scenes when dwarfs are being flung on the dartboard with precision are less disgusting than the time when the “top management” is discussing the services they can provide.

Then there are scenes that are well-written. The times when Jordan’s character is thinking to himself while taking the audience into confidence – they include scenes with the Swiss Banker (played by Jean Dujardin) and his second wife’s British aunt – are delightful.

I read more than one interview based on the movie 'Wall Street' where Douglas has said that people wanted to emulate his character, and it shocked him. DiCaprio has played Belfort in a manner that his lifestyle isn’t to be emulated. To me, this is where Scorsese really scores as the Director. Here is one interview with DiCaprio that I liked.

This really is one of Leonardo DiCaprio's best performances. When he gets shocked on knowing his debauchery on the aircraft to Switzerland, the way he reacts to his second wife’s aunt’s death, his scenes with his honest accountant father, when he is training a bunch of drug dealers to sell penny stock, when he is hosting couple of FBI agents on his fancy yacht, when he decides to give up the lifestyle for a bit, shooting infomercials – he makes Belfort come alive. His Golden Globe for best Actor is really well deserved.

At the National Board of Review Awards, DiCaprio and Scorsese won the Collaboration award. Here’s their irreverent interview.

Belfort's life has taught me something. It is never too late to make changes in one's life, and lifestyle. The movie's style has taught me that jokes are mostly made at someone else's expense, and it matters how you take jokes directed at you. The scenes in the yacht are about this.

TED (2012)

I got reminded of this movie when I saw Andy Roddick retweet something from the fan account called Hilarious Ted recently. I didn’t enjoy the movie when I had watched it in the theatre, and couldn’t fathom as to why this movie became a huge hit. My company for the day was (is?) a fan of Mila Kunis, and I expected that he’d enjoy the movie – he hated it more than me.

When I read the tweets, I realized that they come across as more hilarious than when I heard similar stuff as dialogues. Also, the setting is fully American and that takes some time in getting used to.

The story is that of a friendless boy John who finds a magical teddy bear Ted that can talk, and they grow up together. Well, the years roll on and both remain fairly immature. John’s longtime girlfriend is Lori (Mila Kunis) and she increasingly gets annoyed that John remains childish in Ted’s company – there is one awful scene where she is forced to clean up the mess (human shit) caused by hookers in the apartment.

Watch the movie for some laughs, and for a non-serious Mark Wahlberg. I have watched him in many movies, and he usually plays intense characters. I must add that he scared me in his role as David McCall in Fear.